This invention relates to a method and apparatus for improving moisture retention in a field and particularly for capturing additional quantities of snow during the winter season.
Up until now little attention has been given to the collection of snow since its importance in total moisture content of the soil during the growing season has been little appreciated. Furthermore recently, particularly in view of drought conditions or low moisture conditions in the prairies, more attention has been given to the collection of snow as an effective technique for improving soil moisture conditions at the early stages of the growing season.
Proposals have previously been made for leaving stubble in the field as an improved technique for trapping snow.
In the absence of some technique for trapping the snow, snow tends merely to blow across the surface of the soil during windy conditions so that the snow which has fallen is stripped from the ground and deposited at other areas around obstacles such as trees from where the moisture is merely lost as run-off when melting occurs.
When the snow is left in its initial flat fallen condition, the movement of snow particles acts as a grinding mechanism for stripping away yet further particles so that in many cases the field can be left fully bare despite a nominal snow fall of a significant depth.
Up until now nothing has been available to prevent the snow erosion and little or no attention has been given to this problem.
It is of course well known that various forms of snow plow devices have previously been used for pushing aside snow for example as shown in Canadian Patent No. 27,229 which can be attached to the front of a rail vehicle to push the snow to either side of the tracks.
In addition various forms of landscrapers, blades and cultivators have been provided which act upon the ground to provide a levelling action or to provide cultivation of the ground surface. However these devices are not relevant to the problem in hand that is that of improving the retention of a snow covering on the field to improve moisture retention.